Greeny News

Union of Concerned Scientists, warned that the views of EU biofuels are carbon neutral "is not supported by science '

More than 100 top scientists and economists have written to the European Commission to request a change of indirect land use (ILUC) to consider biofuels policy.

The letter, seen by EurActiv, argues that the distribution of biofuels "carbon neutral" or value of zero emissions - such as the EU -. "It is not accepted by all available [] Science "

Because of the convention "flawed" accounting ", the EU target for renewables in transport may cease to offer real carbon savings in the real world," say the scientists.

"It could become an exercise in the role that promotes deforestation and rising food prices."

signed the letter are: Daniel Kammen, director of World Bank technical specialist renewable energy, Kenneth Arrow, Nobel laureate and professor emeritus at Stanford University, Thomas Lovejoy, President Heinz Center for Biodiversity, and several teachers.

Since 2008, Member States have been forced to increase the share of biofuels in the energy matrix of 10% for 2020.

But recent reports by the European Environment Agency and four other EU agencies have questioned whether compliance with EU targets to reduce CO2 emissions of any at all. This is because the chosen method is intended to absorb carbon double the growth biofuels, and have omitted the CO2 emissions of exhaust gases.

letter cites scientific research

experts for several years, some commissioned by the European Commission, which show that human activity displaced by the conversion of forests and grasslands for biofuel production can lead to 'substantial' CO2 emissions.

"All the studies of change in land use suggest that emissions from biofuel expansion are important and can be very large," says the letter.

minutes of a meeting recently the EU Directive, dated July 13 and seen by EurActiv, said the selection of raw materials, fuels based, such as biodiesel would be "the most effective in meeting ILUC and could create the right incentives for the development of biofuels in the second and third. "

second-generation biofuels from 'woody' materials such as tree bark and leaves do not compete with food production, and thus have less impact ILUC. They are also more effective in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, but they are expensive.

But because of the "scientific uncertainty", members of the Commission decided to introduce a measure at issue "threshold" of CO2 savings by 2018 will not penalize the individual emissions biofuels.

Some sources have suggested it may have been a balance between EU energy and climate departments, involving the application of sustainability criteria for biofuels and highly polluting fuels as the oil sands Canada.

In another sign of the heated debate on biofuels, bioethanol producers in Europe have also sent a letter to EU Energy and members of the Climate Action Committee, accessed by EurActiv, Brussels calls to introduce ILUC factors that distinguish between "good manners and bad biofuels."

"Modeling the future impact of ill-founded ILUC enough to be an adequate basis for politics," the letter said.

These positions are fiercely contested by the producers of biodiesel. The European Biodiesel Board unveils two studies on the change of land use today (October 7), who argue that ILUC "is not scientifically proven," and a recent study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) for the EU was biased.

"Modeling indirect use of land by IFPRI has a number of problems, and the result is that emissions are overestimated ILUC," said one of the authors of the report of the SC, Don O'Connor on the activities of Scientific and Technological Advice.
"Producers may be willing to adopt new sustainability criteria for biofuels, but only if the economic value obtained in this way outweigh the costs of adopting the requirements," said Andrew Britton, a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young on climate change and sustainability practices told services.